Icom IC-7610

Control an Icom IC-7610 transceiver over USB/LAN. Get/set frequency, mode, power, S-meter, SWR. CW keying and beacon mode. Remote power on/off.

Prerequisites

• Hamlib (rigctl): brew install hamlib
• curl: usually pre-installed
• python3: usually pre-installed
• pyserial (only for serial power on): pip3 install pyserial
• wfview (optional, for LAN control): wfview.org/download

Configuration

Station config in .env (not in git). On first install: cp .env.example .env.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
CALLSIGN	(required for CW/beacon)	Your callsign
SERIAL_PORT	/dev/cu.usbserial-11320	CI-V USB serial port
BAUD_RATE	19200	Serial baud rate (⚠️ not 115200!)
HAMLIB_MODEL	3078	Hamlib model ID for IC-7610
FLRIG_URL	http://127.0.0.1:12345/RPC2	flrig XML-RPC endpoint
RIGCTLD_ADDR	127.0.0.1:4533	rigctld TCP address (wfview/hamlib)
MAX_POWER_W	50	Hard power limit in watts

source "$(dirname "$0")/.env" 2>/dev/null || true
PORT="${SERIAL_PORT:-/dev/cu.usbserial-11320}"
BAUD="${BAUD_RATE:-19200}"
MODEL="${HAMLIB_MODEL:-3078}"
FLRIG="${FLRIG_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:12345/RPC2}"
RIGCTLD="${RIGCTLD_ADDR:-127.0.0.1:4533}"
MAX_POWER="${MAX_POWER_W:-50}"

RFPOWER Scale

rigctl uses 0.0–1.0 where 1.0 = 100 W. So: RFPOWER = watts / 100. 5 W = 0.05, 50 W = 0.50. ⚠️ L RFPOWER 5 = 500 W equivalent, NOT 5 watts! flrig uses watts directly: rig.set_power 50 = 50 W.

Connecting

Three connection methods, in priority order. Auto-detect logic:

# 1. Check rigctld (wfview LAN or standalone hamlib rigctld)
if rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" f >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  CONN="rigctld"
# 2. Check flrig
elif curl -s --connect-timeout 2 --max-time 3 -X POST "$FLRIG" \
     -H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
     -d '<?xml version="1.0"?><methodCall><methodName>rig.get_vfoA</methodName></methodCall>' \
     | grep -q '<value>'; then
  CONN="flrig"
# 3. Fall back to direct serial
else
  CONN="serial"
fi

rigctld — LAN via wfview (recommended) or standalone hamlib daemon

Connects to IC-7610 over network via wfview (UDP) or a running rigctld daemon. Full control: freq, mode, power, S-meter, SWR, CW keying, power on/off.

rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" <cmd>
# Read:  f   m   l RFPOWER   l SWR
# Write: F 14074000   M USB 3000   L RFPOWER 0.50
# CW:    b "CQ CQ DE YOURCALL K"
# Power: set_powerstat 0 (off)   set_powerstat 1 (on)

Setup: wfview → Settings → Enable LAN → connect to radio IP → Enable RigCtld (port 4533).

⚠️ Note: M (set mode) may hang waiting for ack from wfview rigctld — command still executes. Use a timeout wrapper or send as fire-and-forget when needed.

Advantages over serial:

• No USB cable needed — Ethernet only
• Power on works with simple set_powerstat 1 (no raw CI-V / pyserial needed)
• Multiple programs can share the radio via wfview (rigctld + virtual serial port)
• Longer distance (Ethernet 100m vs USB 5m)

rigctl serial (direct USB, full control incl. CW and power on/off)

rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD <cmd>
# Read:  f (freq)  m (mode+BW)  l RFPOWER  l SWR
# Write: F 14074000   M USB 3000   L RFPOWER 0.50
# CW:    b "CQ CQ DE YOURCALL K"
# Quick: f m l RFPOWER   → freq, mode, BW, power in one call

⚠️ Baud 19200 (not 115200!). Always wrap: timeout 10 rigctl ... ⚠️ Port busy while flrig runs. Close flrig for CW/power on-off.

flrig XML-RPC

call_flrig() {
  curl -s --connect-timeout 3 --max-time 5 -X POST "$FLRIG" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
    -d "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><methodCall><methodName>$1</methodName><params>$2</params></methodCall>" | \
    grep -o '<value>[^<]*</value>' | head -1 | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g'
}
# Read:  call_flrig rig.get_vfoA / rig.get_modeA / rig.get_power / rig.get_Sunits / rig.get_SWR
# Write: call_flrig rig.set_vfoA '<param><value><double>14074000</double></value></param>'
#        call_flrig rig.set_modeA '<param><value><string>USB</string></value></param>'
#        call_flrig rig.set_power '<param><value><double>50</double></value></param>'

Remote Power On/Off

Requires: rear POWER switch ON + MENU → SET → Network → Power OFF Setting = Standby/Shutdown.

Via rigctld (wfview LAN) — simplest

rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" set_powerstat 0   # off
rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" set_powerstat 1   # on — works! wfview handles it

Via serial — power off works, power on needs raw CI-V

Off: rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD set_powerstat 0

On: rigctl set_powerstat 1 DOES NOT WORK via serial (rig_open fails in standby). Use raw CI-V:

python3 -c "
import serial, time
ser = serial.Serial('$PORT', $BAUD, timeout=2)
ser.reset_input_buffer()
ser.write(bytes([0xFE,0xFE,0x98,0xE0,0x18,0x01,0xFD]))
time.sleep(1); resp = ser.read(100); ser.close()
print('Power ON: OK' if 0xFB in resp else 'FAIL')
"

Wait 7–10 sec after power on before sending commands. "Command rejected" during boot is normal.

CW & Beacon

Works via both rigctld (LAN) and direct serial.

# Via rigctld (LAN):
rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" b "CQ CQ CQ DE $CALLSIGN $CALLSIGN K"

# Via serial:
rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD b "CQ CQ CQ DE $CALLSIGN $CALLSIGN K"

# Beacon loop (works with either connection)
for i in $(seq 1 $REPEATS); do
  rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" b "VVV DE $CALLSIGN VVV DE $CALLSIGN"
  [ $i -lt $REPEATS ] && sleep $INTERVAL
done

Radio setting for CW: MENU → SET → Connectors → USB Keying (CW) → RTS

Safety Rules

Pre-TX checklist (MANDATORY before every transmission)

1. Operator confirmation received
2. Frequency within amateur band (1.8–2.0, 3.5–4.0, 7.0–7.3, 10.1–10.15, 14.0–14.35, 18.068–18.168, 21.0–21.45, 24.89–24.99, 28.0–29.7 MHz)
3. Mode matches band segment (no phone below CW/data boundary)
4. Power ≤ $MAX_POWER_W (default 50 W); above → extra confirmation
5. SWR ≤ 3.0 if available; >3.0 → REFUSE (antenna problem)

No confirmation needed

Reading freq/mode/S-meter/SWR, switching VFO, changing freq/mode, power on/off.

Always require confirmation

PTT, CW keying, beacon, power > $MAX_POWER_W. Any RF transmission.

Auto-refuse (even with confirmation)

Transmit outside amateur bands. Transmit with SWR > 3.0.

Beacon regulatory (FCC)

Remote operation legal (§97.109d). Unattended beacon only 28.2–28.3, 50.06–50.08+ MHz. Below 28 MHz → operator must be on comms.

Reference

Full documentation in references/FULL-REFERENCE.md — consult when needed:

• Complete flrig XML-RPC method list (30+ methods)
• CI-V protocol reference (commands, modes, addressing)
• Error recovery table (common errors + fixes)
• Shell helper functions (freq_valid, set_power_safe, rig_retry, preflight, quick_status)
• Radio menu settings (Network, CI-V, Connectors)
• Compatibility notes for other Icom transceivers
• US Amateur Band Plan table (detailed, with CW/Data/Phone segments)